Mind Games
by Escape
Summary: The Animorphs meet a girl with a power of her own...
1. Mind Games

Copyright 2000 ~Flinches.~ "Sorry!" I scream. "I hate those things too! But I have to put 'em up here! I'm so sorry..." ~Starts crying.~ 

Disclaimer: A bunch of the characters weren't created by me; they were created by K.A. Applegate. The others, though, are my own. Sorry, but I guess I have a messed up mind. Oh, no. I just know a lot of really messed up people. Jordan is real. ~Now I'm really crying.~ 

I wrote a sequel. Trust me, I didn't mean to. But I had to explain why Mel is the way Mel is. It isn't that bad- it actually has a plot. Compared to some of the stuff I've written, that's an improvement! 

Please read and review. 

Anyway, on with the story... 

Chapter 1 

I went to school. Just another day with a bunch of airheads and people who can't think without looking in the back of the book. Oh, and don't forget the freaks. That pretty much describes everyone at my school. Except for me, that is. 

I don't know which category I fall into. I know I'm not an airhead. I mean, I'm in Honors English, for crying out loud. I've had to lower my writing technique to write this for you. Not to get off the subject, but I've been voted the smartest girl in the class. I'm not saying that isn't true. Brandy got all A's and a C. I get A's and B's. 

Am I bragging? 

Hmm... 

Okay. Since you don't want to hear about my lifetime achievements, I'll get on with it. 

There's this school. Is isn't exactly summer school, but it takes place over the summer, and it is a school. Kids who aren't doing horrible, but who are still doing somewhat poorly go there. There are a bunch of people who go there that I don't like. Jordan, the girl who always says, "Ooh! Ooh! I know! It's like- well, you know, it's like- that- you know?" (And that's a direct quote.) 

A bunch of teachers from the area help out at this thing. And somehow, I got suckered into it. I was helping out in the English class as the teacher's assistant. Brandy, of course, was helping out a lot, but even though she got an A in English, it wasn't Honors English, so she had to stay away. From my classroom, at least. All she was doing was the math class, but it was my second year, so I got to do a whole lot more. She wasn't very happy, if I recall correctly. 

Still, I can get my own way when I want to. I'm persuasive. I wasn't persuasive maybe a year or two ago, but now, let's just say that I'm the queen. 

That's how I got the reign of the place. That and the fact that I'd helped out at this thing before. 

I like it when I help out there. I have the reign over the students, and that year, I even ruled over Brandy. I was kind of a suck up. Not that I wanted to be, it's just this kind of thing that happened. See, I'm kind of in the habit of, well, absorbing things. 

It was that summer that I met them. Well, her first. 

It was the first day of what I called "Summer School." No one else calls it that, but to me, that's what it is. So deal with it. 

"Oh, hey Mel," Brandy said much too happily. 

"Hi, Brandy." Just keep your voice even and don't act interested. Maybe she'll just go away. 

"Oh, come on. Is that any way to treat a friend and coworker?" 

Yes. "Technically, we aren't coworkers. We work in two entirely different buildings." 

"Ooh! Like, you know what, Brandy? Like, Mel'd know, because she, like, works here and all." Jordan was standing behind Brandy, sucking on a lollipop. I think she worships Baby Spice. I think she died her hair blond, and she was going to put it up in pigtails on the top of her head tomorrow. I don't know how I knew, but she'd do that. Then she'd go flirt with a bunch of guys and joke about how cute she was. Afterwards, they'd run away screaming- just kidding. 

Brandy made a face. She didn't like the fact that she hadn't been chosen to help out at this thing before. Typical. "I work here too, you know." 

I tried not to sneer; I really did. But I guess I didn't hide it as well as I thought I had. "I think what Jordan is trying to say is that I'm a bit more... uh, experienced." 

Brandy shrugged. "Well, I'm off to my new job now." She hesitated. "Are we getting paid?" 

"If we do a few extra things. Help out at lunch, clean the place. Fix everything for the show at the end of the week. Stuff like that." 

"Hmm. Well, I think I'll sign up for those things." 

"The sign-up sheet is in the main office. I should know. I signed up a long time ago." 

Brandy pouted. "Come on, Jordan. I'll show you to your first class. After all, I should know. I'm teaching it." 

She turned and walked away, tossing her hair around like- well, I don't know what it was like. I stayed away from people who did that. 

I smiled as Jordan ran after her, skipping and saying, "Um, maybe we should, like, ask her, you know? Because she knows her way around, and we've been, like, looking for the last half hour." 

Then Jordan knocked into this kid who was coming down the path and knocked the girl's books all over the place. "Oh, like, I'm sorry about that." She turned her attention back to Brandy, who I probably should have been feeling sorry for. "But, really. How much would they, like, pay you and stuff? Do you think you could, like, get me a job, too? Because that would be so totally awesome." 

Shaking my head, I went over to the girl. "Sorry about that," I told her. 

"No problem," she said quietly. 

I looked at her. Short black hair, braided along her scalp. I know that doesn't sound pretty, but that's the literal way of describing it. She had dark skin that kind of reminded you of chocolate and silk at the same time. I stooped down to help her pick up one of her books. 

"Wow. You must be one of the smarter kids. You'll be in the highest algebra class and," I picked up another book and folder, "you'll be in my English class, too." 

She looked up at me. She was kind of pretty, actually. She didn't say anything, though. 

"I take it this is your first year." 

She nodded. "My grades this past year were... less than my parents liked." 

I smiled. "Believe it or not, I know the feeling. I'm Melanie, by the way. You can call me Mel." 

"I'm Cassie." 

"Cool name." 

"Thanks." 

"So what's your first class? Maybe I could show you to the building. Unless you can find your own way," I added hastily. 

"Actually, I could use some help. I start with math. Know where that is?" 

I cringed. "You know that girl who almost plowed you over?" Cassie nodded. "Well, her name is Jordan. The girl with her was Brandy, the math teacher's assistant. I go to school with her. If you get the chance, fall in her good graces, or else you'll have to rely on Mrs. Farswain." I shuddered. "Trust me. You don't want to do that. She's practically deaf." 

We started walking as I went on explaining. "When you talk to Brandy, if you're that brave, or that stupid-" she grinned- "pretend you don't know me or something. We aren't the best of friends, to put it mildly." 

"Where did you get that phrase? 'If you're that brave, or that stupid?'" 

Thankfully, I had a very good memory. I didn't have to think that much before I told her, "Uh, it was 'Enemy of the State.' Except the direct quote was, 'You're either very smart, or very stupid.'" 

Cassie smiled. I got the feeling that she was remembering something. Then thinking about something. Whatever it was, it was strong. Something very close to her. 

I felt something touch my arm and blinked. Cassie was holding my arm. "You okay?" she asked. 

I nodded, wondering. I much have stopped in my tracks or something. But I couldn't help it. I'd met a lot of people, and I'd gotten a lot of feelings before. But none had ever been so strong. She was unlike anyone I'd ever met. And she had a secret. A BIG secret. 

Nothing bothers me more than secrets. That's my major fault. My dad's a reporter, and I guess that makes me a natural snoop and naturally good at bothering people. 

I looked around. Without knowing it, I'd taken us right to the math building. Maybe I hadn't stopped at all and had just been a bit dazed. I smiled at her. "Here's the building you're in for first class." I pointed to the building on my right. "That's where I'm working. The English building. If Brandy gives you trouble, just let me know. I won't make it much better, but I can promise you that she'll think twice about what she says to you." 

Cassie raised her eyebrows. I could tell she was still a bit worried about me. "What's that supposed to mean?" 

"She has an attitude. If she talks to you rudely in any way, I'll set her straight." 

Cassie looked a bit worried. "Why would she talk to me rudely?" 

I didn't want to tell her the other reason why I didn't like Brandy. But did I want her to find out on her own? Well, she'd have to. I didn't want to tell her, and if she knew, how would that affect things? She'd start out on the wrong foot for sure. Brandy somehow knew when people knew about her. 

I shrugged. "What time is it?" 

Cassie shrugged. She wasn't wearing a watch. 

"Well, I have to go make sure I'm on time for my class. I'll see you later, maybe?" 

She nodded and walked inside as I walked to my own building. 

When I got to the doors, I looked back. Something about Cassie was bothering me. She had a secret, and not the kind of secret that's "Oh, I have a crush on..." She liked someone named Jake, I knew that. But this was deeper. Much deeper. 

Something caught my eye in the sky. I looked up and saw a red-tailed hawk. It seemed to be watching me. I homed in on it. What was going on today? This hawk wasn't normal, either. It was... smart. It was actually having feelings. Suspicious. 

I waved. "Hi... To- Tobias?" 

The hawk nearly crashed into the side of the college dorm building. 

I turned and went inside. No, this was definitely not a normal day. 

Chapter 2 

A girl named Angela was having trouble with her pronoun charts. I could tell because while she was working, she had almost chewed through her pencil, and was making little noises. Plus, the despair around her was like a flood. 

I shook my head. The pronouns were so simple. I mean, I'd known them since sixth grade, and this girl was a lot older and didn't even have a clue. 

I walked behind her and tried to ignore the feeling of despair swamping me. 

"Need some help?" I asked. 

The teacher, Mrs. Homesly, looked at me out of the corner of her eye. She had told me that first they would take a test now, and then a test later to show how they had progressed. We weren't supposed to help them. But then again, she knew that I would only give advice and help to calm her down, so she looked back at her book. 

Angela nodded. I noticed a few kids looked at her, some just to see who it was, others to jeer at her. She glared at all of them. 

"First of all, breathe." 

She obeyed. 

"Okay. Next, do what the teachers at school tell you. Come back to this particular question later, after you've had time to relax. Can you do that?" 

She nodded. I walked away. 

Then I noticed- felt, rather, that someone was watching me. I countered the feeling. I guess you can say that I wasn't exactly countering it. Those are the wrong words. I was tracing it. And I recognized the feeling. Cassie. I walked around the desks, pretending to make sure everyone was doing okay or whatever. 

I realized that Mrs. Homesly was watching me. I ignored her. 

Eventually, I ended up next to Cassie. I leaned over and pointed to her pencil. "I think you'd better be using a #2 pencil." I handed her one that I usually carried around with me. Being a hopeful future author, I always carried around at least five. "And I'd also concentrate on the test. Not on watching me." I was tempted to say, "Like a hawk," but stopped myself in time. 

It seemed like a long time before that class was over, and when it was, I was fed up for the day. Luckily, I had ten minutes to take a break. Planning on getting a Coke, maybe a hot pocket to go with it, I got ready to leave the room. 

Right as I was about to exit through the door, Mrs. Homesly looked up from her book. "Mel?" 

I turned around. Oh, goody. What was the next surprise today? "Yes?" 

She took off her glasses, something that made me feel a bit prouder. I was the only student she took her glasses off in front of. She felt kind of insecure about her eyesight because, well, who wasn't tortured when they were younger because they wore glasses? 

"I just wanted to thank you again for doing this. You have a... an uncanny knack with the students. 

I froze. "I guess I'm just really good at reading people. You know, because I read so many books." 

She nodded thoughtfully. Then she suddenly shook her head. "Oh, well. Go on. Our next class is in a few minutes." 

"Right." 

I ran to get a coke. Because I was late, they were out of hot pockets. I chatted with the boy who had to help out in the cafeteria because his mom had to work there. is name was Matthew. He was a neighbor of mine who was two years older than I. 

"So? Tried any witchcraft lately?" 

I froze. Why couldn't this just be a normal day? Was anything wrong with that? And why did he suddenly think I was a witch? 

All of my questions came out as a choked on "Huh?" 

He grinned. "Hey, don't worry. It's not like you're really a witch or anything. Andrew thinks so, though." 

"Why?" 

"He says you turned him down when he asked you to go to the movies." 

"The jerk never asked me! 

Matt smiled. "Still. You know, a bunch of my friends'd like to ask you out." I blushed. "So, I was thinking that maybe I'd get to you first." This time I practically choked. "Nothing major. But your Dad gets all those movies-" He realized that it sounded as if he was using me and hastened to correct himself. "I mean, we could just hang out. At your place- or at mine. Or we could just go to a movie-" 

His mom called to me from the washing machines. "Mel? What are you doing her? You have two minutes until your next class!" 

"What!?" I dashed off, then remember Matt and shouted, "Later!" 

He was still thinking about me when I reached the classroom. I couldn't tell exactly what he was thinking about, and I'm not sure I wanted to know. 

Mrs. Homesly shot me a quick glance before she went back to teaching. I settled back in my own personal desk and read. Right then, I didn't want to do anything except get away from it all. 

I'd been accused of witchcraft. Whether the person had any evidence or not. But if they followed up on it, they'd find it wasn't very far from the truth. 

Welcome to Salem. 

Chapter 3 

"Oh, Me-eeeeeelllllll," Brandy called. 

Right then, I wanted to drop on my knees and beg for God to take me away just then and there. After yesterday, I couldn't put up with much else. 

Jordan ran up to me first. "Like, oh my word, Mel. Brandy is, like, so ticked off at you. Is it, like, true that you're some kind of, like, freak?" 

"Excuse me?" 

By now, Brandy had caught up with us. "You know, Mel. Are you a witch? I saw you talking to that hawk yesterday. My mom says that all witches have familiars. Is that what the hawk was?" 

"Familiar?" I echoed. How had the rumor spread so quickly? Why did everyone think I was a witch? 

"Well, it wasn't just that, actually. I always thought there was something odd about you. Always knowing people's secrets. Always knowing people better than they know themselves. Knowing my secret." 

"Secret? You call it a secret?" I asked dryly. 

"Well, maybe not. You knew it before anyone, though. And then when I talked to that-" 

I cut her off before she could say it. "I know what I did. You called her things just because her skin was a different color, and I stuck up for her. I completely put you down. Humiliated you in front of the entire school. You've hated me ever since." I smiled. After all, it had been a win-win situation. Standing up for a friend, and dragging Brandy through the dirt. 

She walked up to me until her nose was an inch away from mine. Deep down, beneath my own fear that she knew about my real powers, I knew she was afraid of me. 

"But now it's payback time," Brandy told me threateningly. 

I pulled my head back and wrinkled my nose, muttering something about a breath mint. "Is that what you call it? Payback? Because if you think you're going to pay me back for sticking up for someone, then I'll do just what I did last time. Except this time, I'll expose you for the person you really, really are." 

She yelled at me, telling me what they really were, shouting a bunch of theories at me. I corrected her. 

"In case you haven't noticed, 'they' are just like us. If you were smart, you'd know that the only reason that their skin is a different color is because they lived in a hot climate for thousands of years, and they were forced to evolve so their skin could cope with the sun. When they came to the Americas, well, no one has live in America long enough to evolve some sort of common skin color. But when we do, people will look at us just like you look at the people you so warmly refer to as 'them.'" 

Brandy smiled. "It bothers you, doesn't it? That Cassie girl, a girl who falls into your taste as a friend, is in my class. And that I saw you talking to her. And you know that I hate her. And it must bother you a lot because you know what I'll do." 

I felt my face grow warm. Not from embarrassment or anything like that, but with hate. I had never hated anyone as much as I did at that moment. All her life, Brandy had judged people by the color of their skin. She judged people who talked to them. And now she was threatening to harm someone just because she had dark skin and talked to me. 

I felt, practically saw, my anger pushing outward, focusing on Brandy. She was probably scared half to death. I've been known for fighting before. She stumbled and fell backwards. 

"If you so much as dare," I hissed, "do anything at all to her, even connected to her, I swear, I swear, that I will hurt you so much you will wish you were dead." 

Brandy and Jordan both made little squeaks and ran off. 

After they were gone, I adjusted my books. I heard a rustle of feathers and looked up. There was the same red-tail watching me from a branch. "What are you looking at?" I asked. The bird made a move like it might fly away. "Not so fast, Bird Boy," I snapped. "Don't tell her. Absolutely. Do. Not. Tell. Her." 

Why not? 

I felt my head snap to attention. I had known this bird was unusual, but I hadn't expected that. "What?" 

Well, as a witch, and knowing everyone's secrets and all, you must know mine. 

"I am not a witch." I started to walk away, but I could feel the bird following me. A while later, I felt something else, unlike anything I'd ever felt before. Not from this world, at least. 

"Enough of this," I muttered. I went inside my building. 

Mrs. Homesly was already there. She was carrying a long paper shape and a bunch of tape. She smiled at me as I walked into the classroom. "Help me hang this up, will you?" 

I nodded and dumped my stuff on my desk. 

"Something wrong, Mel?" 

I nodded and told her about Brandy. She nodded like she understood. "Do you always stick up for your beliefs like that? You know, threatening people?" 

I felt myself blush. I didn't know why I had told her about that. "Yeah. I mean, if something's wrong, you should stand against it, you know? No matter what." 

"What do you get if you die doing it?" 

I forced a laugh. For some reason, this conversation was giving me the creeps. "Everything. I don't know if you're catholic or not, but we believe that if you're good, you go to Heaven. And even if there is no Heaven, you at least die knowing you did the right thing." 

"That's all?" 

"Yep." 

She walked back to look at our handiwork and I followed her lead. "There. How's that?" 

I read the name on the banner. "The Sharing." I felt a slight shiver run up and down my spice. "It's good," I said. It had been put up well, thankfully, so that was partially true. But it didn't feel right. 

A boy named Seth from first period walked in. He was one of the kids who were pretty old, about as old as a sophomore, say, and he still didn't get anything. "Hey," he said quietly. He looked at me and Mrs. Homesly. "Um, my locker isn't working." 

I started walking towards him to help before Mrs. Homesly could say anything. The farther I got from her, the better. 

She'd changed since the last time. And not for the better, offering to help advertise for some club. 


	2. Mind Games, Part 2

Copyright 2000 

Wow. So you came to read the second part. You can put up with Mel? Cool. Anyway, Mel and a few others are of my own weird brain power, and the others, you know who they are so I hopefully don't have to name them one by one, are from K.A. Applegate's great brain power. 

Oh yeah. Since you're brave enough to put up with Mel, please be brave enough to read this and then leave a review. What can I say? I love reading reviews. Even bad and boring ones! 

Guess what! I made a sequel. "A Lesson Learned." It ain't too bad, neither. 

Chapter 4 

So far, I'd managed to make it through the day. Helping Seth had been the least of my problems. Everybody had given me weird looks, and I'd passed Brandy on the way. She'd been in the middle of saying something and had seen me. She'd stared right at me and said, "That's her." 

I'd seen signs for the club everywhere. The Sharing. Every time, I got the creeps, except each time, they were less and less. Or at least seemed that way. But I knew The Sharing wasn't getting better; I was just getting used to it. 

By lunch, though, I'd had about as much as I could take. All of the kids in my classes had started looking at me with a weird look. It was a cross between awe and fear. But I knew that deep down, there was fear and disbelief. 

Mrs. Homesly even noticed. She seemed to think... I don't know what she was thinking. Whenever I tried to get through to her, I began to feel this thing I'd never felt before. It was like a wall. 

I tried to leave for lunch, but Mrs. Homesly called to me at the door. "Mel, I heard a rumor." 

I knew it was coming. Not really knew, but I dreaded it all the same. "What about them?" 

"Well, a few of the kids seem to think that you're a witch." 

I offered a small smile. I'd imagined what to do in this situation that I had planned every move. Next, I tried to make it look as if I were trying not to laugh. "I'm not a witch. Witches don't exist. Everybody know that." 

I walked out of the room, prepared to release a huge breath of air that I'd been holding on to. As soon as I walked out, though, I saw Cassie. "Hey," I said, settling for pushing my bangs out of my face instead of sighing. 

"Hey," Cassie came towards me, smiling. "Um, I was wondering if you'd sit with me and my friends at lunch." 

That made me raise my eyebrows. After the rumor that I was a witch, she was actually going to let me eat lunch with her and other people? Her friends? Actually, she was going so far as to invite me. But I reminded myself that there was a reason for everything. And I'll bet she had a reason, too. 

"Uh, yeah. Sure. I guess. Uh, I'll... meet you there." 

Cassie smiled and walked off. She wouldn't lie to me, I knew that, but there was some other sort of reason that I couldn't get to. As if she were trying to cover it up. 

I shook my head and ran to the cafeteria. 

As soon as I got there, I could tell that Matt saw me. I waited in line, trying not to notice all the kids trying to move away from me and trying to act like one of them. 

No such luck. 

He looked up as I got to his section. "I need to talk to you." 

"Uh, I can't. I , uh, really need to-" 

He suddenly appeared on my side of the counter and grabbed my wrist. He pulled me through the kitchen and out the door. His mom looked at us as if she were ticked off with him, but she didn't say anything. 

Matt pulled me over to the curb and pulled me down. We sat there for a few minutes. 

Finally, he said, "So you're a witch." 

I shook my head and choked two times before I managed to say, "No, I'm not." 

"Give me a break. I saw what you did I was there this morning. I saw you push her back without touching her. And I saw you talking to that bird. I don't want to believe it, but you are." 

"No, I am not." I said firmly. He must have been there before. That unfamiliar feeling must have covered up his feelings. Great. 

He looked at me. He didn't believe me. 

"You want to know the truth? Is that what it will take for you to believe me? I'm not a witch. I can't cast spells or put curses on people, but I know things." 

"What kind of things?" 

"Well, uh. Things. I can kind of sense things, I guess. Sometimes see things." 

"Like what? Visions or something?" 

"I guess." I thought. What would possibly convince him? "Remember that time you and your friends went to McDonald's, and one of your friends was trying to play a prank on you?" 

"Yeah." 

I waited. I wasn't waiting for him to answer; I knew he wouldn't. I was using the time so he could think about it a bit. "What happened?" I asked. 

He was silent, but I knew he'd answer. "John was trying to break in through my window. He was going to put a dead cat on my bed." 

"And I caught him on the way out. He was also taking your stuff. He was planning to keep al of those CDs." 

Matt nodded. "Is that how you knew? Your little powers?" 

I shook my head. "They aren't little. Ever since I came here this week, they've been going out of control." 

"Meaning?" 

"They're getting stronger. Dreams that are coming true. I can tell you what your mom is doing right now. Want me to tell you what she's thinking?" I didn't know if I could actually do that or not, but why not? I might, and it would be fun... 

He looked at me. "I think," he started, "that-" he paused, trying to think of how he could say it. 

"You think that I should stay away from you even though I haven't done anything wrong." 

"Brandy," he reminded me. 

"Oh, please. Brandy's a racist freak. I was trying to get her to leave my friends alone." 

"By pushing her back?" 

"She fell. Excuse me for scaring people when I get mad. And I'm sorry that Brandy gets scared so easily." 

Matt stood up, still not saying anything. I jumped up. "Fine! I'm leaving. Why don't you go back into the kitchen and scrub the floor or something!?" I stormed back into the building. 

I looked around and saw where Cassie was waiting with her friends. I went over and threw my few bags of chips and a can of Coke on the table. "Hi, Jake. Rachel. Tobias. Marco. Ax. Hey, Cassie." 

"Hey." She didn't want to be here. I think I had just gotten her into trouble. 

"What?" I asked. I sat down. 

Jake, the boy next to Cassie, looked at her. "You told her about us? I thought-" 

"She didn't tell me about you," I said, trying to stand up for her. I was ready to stand up if I had to and punch this Jake guy out. 

"Then how did you know?" he countered. 

I saw Tobias give a slight jerk and Jake jump a little. Tobias had kicked him under the table. 

"Don't kick him!" I hissed. 

"How did you know?" Jake repeated. 

"How do you think?" I spat back. I gave a little jump in my chair and rolled my eyes, glaring at him. "Listen, today is not the day to tick me off." 

Marco muttered, "Looks like that's already happened." 

"Your sense of humor is not appreciated," I told him curtly. "Just pass the salt." I didn't need it, but it might have been a conversation starter. More than I had bargained for, actually. 

Marco picked it up and handed it to me. I took it. My hand brushed his. Suddenly, I saw flashes. I felt- well, I felt his memories, his feelings. In an instant, I came to know more about him than he knew about himself. 

I jerked my hand back. 

"What is it?" Cassie asked. 

I swallowed. "It's gotten worse." I shoved my chair back and jumped up. I started to walk out of the cafeteria. 

Matt saw me and looked away. Brandy saw me, grinned, and waved. 

I thought about it ever so briefly and went up to her. After all, she thought I was a witch, right? "Brandy?" 

She stopped sipping her Coke through her straw and looked at me. Her shock that I was actually taking the initiative took the fear away momentarily. Her friends looked up at me expectantly. 

Now where to start. Hey, that's an idea... 

"Did you know that Brandy is a witch's name?" I asked. "I was thinking that maybe your mom named you that for a reason and maybe you're blaming me for everything just so no one suspects you." 

She laughed uneasily and looked at her friends. They looked back with small grins. Whatever I had said was making some sort of effect on them. "What are you talking about? Brandy laughed. "I'm not a witch. You are." 

"Sure. You say that, but how are we to know? You aren't that smart, or you would be better off here. You would have been at this thing before. Maybe you have troubles at home because of it. Either one of those would make you take up something like witchcraft, to feel smart or special. And then you come here and something goes wrong. You don't want people to know you're a freak, so you blame me. Why not? After all, you are a racist-" a few kids looked at Brandy, shocked. She grinned back uneasily. "And I am against all that. This would be the perfect way to make me look bad. No one would even listen to me. But I think you made a mistake." 

"And what would that be?" 

I grinned. She'd asked out of pure curiosity, but it had incriminated her. 

"You know full well what it was." I walked away. 

Finally, I found a nice spot outside. No one was around, and I doubted anyone would stand a chance of finding me unless they were looking incredibly hard. I sat down. 

Had I meant what I'd told Matt? Could I really do that? I'd told Matt that I could see what his mom was doing and thinking. I hadn't meant to say it. The words had simply jumped out of my mouth. But when I had touched Marco, his entire life flashed before my eyes like a movie without popcorn and coke in a matter of mere seconds. I had definitely gotten stronger since I had come here and met these people. Maybe I could... 

First. What was Matt doing? Had he meant everything he'd said? 

I closed my eyes and concentrated on Matt. Suddenly, I saw the cafeteria as if I were in it. Matt was behind the counter, scooping out slop to some kid. I saw Brandy approach him. "Hi," she said. 

Meanwhile, I was thinking, Oh, no. Don't you even dare. 

Matt looked up. "Hi." 

Brandy ran her fingers through her hair. "So how's the food here?" 

Matt grinned. "I recommend bringing your own from home." His mother cleared her throat loudly. 

What are you thinking! I shouted at him. She's evil! Get away from her! 

But all he was thinking about was me. Not in a sweet way, either. He thought I was nice, but he was trying to think of reasons why I was acting so strangely. He was wondering if I was safe to be around. And now he had seen Brandy. She was flirting with him, but he was too busy thinking about how to deal with me to notice. He was too blind to realize that she was flirting with him. 

"So, I was wondering. Do you know, um, Mel?" 

That put Matt on his guard. "Yeah. Why?" 

"Don't you just hate her? I mean, she so... weird. And she's such a goody-two-shoes. Doesn't that just disgust you?" 

"Not really." 

Good go, Matt, I cheered him silently. 

"So how do you know her?" 

"We're neighbors." 

"Wow. I go to school with her. You know,-" 

I felt something hit my arm. Hard. I fell on the ground and kept myself from busting my skull open by using my hands. 

"Geez, you okay?" I looked up. It was Rachel. 

"Yeah." I sniffled and felt something crawling down my cheek. I brushed at it. It felt wet. I pulled my fingers away and looked at them. I'd been crying. I stared at my fingers and then wiped the other cheek. That one was wet also. I scrubbed at my cheeks to try and dry them off. 

"You've been crying for the past ten minutes," Marco told me. "We couldn't figure out how to get you out of it." 

I looked at him, expressionless. I was getting stronger. I knew everything about him. How long would this last? Would it? And why was this happening now? 

And now I knew who the enemy was. "I think I might have an idea." 

Jake and Cassie were off somewhere else. No doubt Jake was giving Cassie some sort of lecture, judging from what Marco knew. Since the leader wasn't there, Tobias was taking over. He was the only one who considered what he did before he did it. Tobias, who didn't usually show his emotion, raised his eyebrows. "Really?" 

I nodded and took a deep breath. "You're fighting the Yeerks, and I think I know how to find out their plans." 

"How?" 

I bit my lip. "Marco. Remember when you passed me that salt shaker and I hit your hand by accident?" He nodded. "Well, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to, but I- I don't know. But now I know everything you know; I felt everything you feel." 

He stood up straighter. "Impossible." 

"Is it? The Ellimist is impossible. The Crayak. And besides, look at us. I don't think either of us has the right to tell the other what is and isn't possible." 

"What's the plan?" Tobias interjected. 

"If I can do that again- find out everything about a person just by touching them, then I can possibly find out whatever information you need." 

"What about anything one of us might want?" Marco asked. "Because there's this girl at school-" 

"Trust me. The answer's no." 

Marco crossed his arms, but he didn't look greatly disappointed. 

"Can you see the future too?" Rachel asked. 

"Sometimes," I confessed. "It's been happening a lot more ever since I met you guys. Or at least Cassie. And I've gotten stronger. I can read people's minds. I can see things that I can't possibly see. I don't even know what else I can do, but I can help." 

"Why were you crying?" Rachel asked. 

I grinned sheepishly. "Boy troubles." 

She nodded as if she understood. 

"We'll tell Jake and let him decide." Tobias looked around. "Can you take care of yourself?" 

I laughed. "If they decided to have a witch hunt, then I'll call you." 

Chapter 5 

I went back into the classroom. Mrs. Homesly was already there. "Hello, Melanie. How are you doing?" 

I grinned. "Good." 

"Great. I think we should give a quiz with this class. Tell them that they need to study." 

"All right." 

"Here are the quizzes." She held them out to me, and I took them from her, deliberately touching her hand. It worked. I knew everything. 

"Are you okay?" she asked. 

I shook my head. "I'm fine, but I feel a bit dizzy. That's all." 

Mrs. Homesly looked concerned. "Do you need some air?" 

I nodded. "I'll go outside after I pass these out." I passed them out hurriedly and then stumbled outside. It hadn't just been her, it had been the thing inside her. It, the Yeerk, was torturing her. It was pushing her as far as she could go, farther. She was a slave to that thing. Oh, yeah. Name: Talson 946. 

I stumbled along and practically collapsed on the stairs. "You okay?" Cassie asked. 

I nodded. "It worked. I touched Mrs. Homesly's hand. I saw the- that thing inside her, too." 

"Let me guess. It wasn't part of the Yeerk Peace Movement?" 

I laughed. "Definitely not." 

"So what are they going to do?" 

I took a deep breath. "What day is it?" 

"Tuesday." 

"Only Tuesday? Geez." 

"Surprising, isn't it?" 

She was trying to be understanding, but I could tell that she really wanted to get on with it. I decided I'd tell her. "This Friday, whoever hasn't joined the Sharing, they'll be taken by force." 

"By force?" she asked slowly. 

"There's an entrance somewhere. She doesn't know where it is. On Friday, all of the classes are going to be taken out of class with some sort of excuse. They're going to be led to the entrance. And then they'll be infested." 

"Why wait until Friday? Oh, yeah. I forgot." 

I nodded. "They want voluntary hosts. Easier to manage." 

"So what do we do?" 

I shrugged. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm going down there as if I don't know what's happening." 

"You can't go down alone." 

I nodded thoughtfully. "Look at all I've done. How strong I've gotten. I may have pushed someone back with my mind. Can you imagine how much information I could find out while I'm down there? I already know parts of the layout." 

"Yeah, but-" 

"Look, I don't care if you guys come or not, that's all I'm saying. I'm going in there. I'm involved now. I have a weapon, too. Maybe it isn't as great as yours, but it's harder to detect. It might even be stronger in the long run." 

"We're going with you." She paused as I sighed in relief. I hadn't wanted to go alone. Not really, anyway. "Jake's going to read you the riot act over this." 

I grinned. "I know." 

"So what do we do till then?" 

"Ideas would be helpful, but I don't have any. The only thing I can think of is simply wait." 

"Wait." 

"Yep. Wait. Oh, but hey. I have something to do." 

"Which is?" she asked slowly. 

"You know how Brandy accused me of being a witch?" 

"Yeah?" 

"I'm going to be spreading around the rumor that she only said that to cover up for herself." 

"Why are you doing that?" 

"To make everyone think that she'd the witch and not me. It'll help in the long run." 

"How so?" 

I grinned. "I don't know. Everything done is for a purpose, though. I didn't even need the salt Marco gave me. But look what that did." 

She nodded. 

"What class do you have next?" 

"History." 

I made a face. "Prince Toad's realm." 

"What?" 

"Sorry. You know the boy who helps out in that class? We call him the Prince Toad. He's smart, I'll grant him that, but when he was younger, he wasn't really that good at anything but entertainment. He used to do this toad impersonation where he'd wear a crown and go up to girls, ribbit, and say that if they kissed him, he'd turn into a handsome prince. I guess the name stuck." 

Cassie left, saying, "Off to Prince Toad's realm, then. See you later." 

"Yeah. Same here." 

I got up, and we both went to our buildings. 

There were already some kids in the classroom. I went straight up to a boy named Paul. "Hey." 

He looked uneasy. But then he realized the first rule: Never tick off a witch. So he said "Hey" in return. 

"You're in Brandy's class, right? The math class?" Of course, I knew everyone took math, but Brandy taught the better math kids, just as I taught the ones who were better at English. 

He nodded. 

"I just wanted to tell you to watch yourself around her. You know how she accused me of being a witch?" 

He nodded again. 

"It's a cover." 

"What?" 

"She's accusing me to cover up for herself. She's the witch, but she's saying that I'm the witch to cover up for herself." 

"You're kidding, right?" 

"Of course I'm not kidding." 

"So she's the witch? Not you?" 

"Exactly." What was it with people? They were so easy to convince! 

And so it progressed. I warned each person one on one. The word got around. Cassie smiled at me after school and told me that she'd heard about Brandy being a witch in her computer class, the class she had right after History. A bunch of other kids told me what Brandy really was as if I didn't know. 

After a while, I saw Brandy. Jordan was, like, with her. You know? 

"Hey, guys. Have you heard the latest news?" 

"What did you do?" she spat at me. 

"I didn't do anything, Brandy. You brought this on yourself." I'd said that a little more loudly than I had meant. A few kids chimed in with agreements. 

Brandy walked away, muttering something about witchcraft. 

"Jordan?" I called. 

"Like, what is it, Mel?" She was definitely ticked off with me. 

Well, one step further couldn't be too bad. "Did I, like, you know, say the wrong thing?" 

She turned and stormed off. I walked home, realizing that I felt a lot better. 

Chapter 6 

Friday came. I knew the others were nervous, but when I had touched Marco, I guess I'd gotten used to that way of life, too. I didn't really see what the deal was, though. I was the one who had to get all the information. They were the ones who had all the experience. I tried not to touch Cassie when I helped her with her work. I think she understood that I didn't want to feel the nervousness she felt. 

Mrs. Homesly called me over to her desk as soon as I got into the room. 

"Yes ma'am?" 

"Mel, in third period, Principal Chapman is taking all of the children out for a discussion." 

I felt the hair on the back of my neck start to rise. Principal Chapman was known as vice-principal Chapman to Marco and the others, but he was in charge of everything here. 

"What about?" 

"I'm not sure. I believe it's about health discussions and what to do in case of emergencies, that kind of stuff." 

"Where?" 

"I'm not sure." 

I nodded. "Okay. Any quizzes today?" 

She shook her head. "No, but we have some worksheets. Want to put them on the desks for me?" 

I took them and brushed her hand. She truly didn't know. The Yeerks were getting smarter. They weren't even letting the people involved in the plan know the full plan. 

Cassie was in second period. I could tell her and maybe she'd get the word to the others. 

I waited impatiently. Finally, Cassie walked in, only after all the rest of the class had come. I passed out the worksheets, but couldn't find the time to talk to her. I waited impatiently again. There was break after this class. If I couldn't talk to Cassie before then, it would cut our time to find and talk to the others shorter than it already was. 

By now, I was really impatient. I hadn't been able to remember my dreams since Tuesday. I knew why, too. The dreams must have been so awful that I covered them up unconsciously instead of coming face-to-face with them. Not that I cared. All I had to do was trust my instincts. After all, they were getting better by the second. 

Finally, it was time for break. I jumped out of my seat and ran to Cassie. I helped her pack up while everyone else filed out. 

"It's going to happen in third period," I whispered to her. 

"What?" 

"It's going to happen in third period," I repeated. "Principal Chapman is going to call everyone to some sort of assembly. That's when it's going to happen." 

"When exactly?" 

"I don't know. They're getting smart. They won't even tell the people involved the entire thing." 

Cassie licked her lips. "Great. Just great." 

"You get the others. You can go faster; you'll know where to look, and you have something I don't have." 

She looked at me understandably. Then the look in her eyes changed. "What about you?" 

"I'll stay here. Maybe I'll even hold it off if I can. Just get the others and hurry." 

"Are you sure?" 

"Yes, I'm sure. Go. Hurry." 

She nodded and went to find a place to morph. 

Brandy appeared from around the corner. For once, Jordan wasn't with her. "And what were you two doing?" she asked innocently. 

Now isn't the time, I told myself crossly. Just get her out of the way and find some way to hold everything off. "What?" 

How much did she know, though? I needed to know that before anything else. 

"The two of you. A witch, and a-" she hesitated and then went on, knowing what I'd do if she said anything wrong. "Well, back to the point. Are you scared of Principal Chapman?" 

I stared at her. "Are you scared of me?" I retorted. 

She repeated her question, which told me that she was definitely afraid of me. 

"The truth?" 

Brandy nodded. 

"No. I'm not afraid of Principal Chapman. I'm not afraid of you, either." 

"You should be." 

"Yeah, right." I walked past her. 

I walked down the hall and went outside. What was the best way to keep everyone from the assembly? I went to the cafeteria. The assembly would happen in third period. When in third period? Maybe the others would come before everyone was called. But what if they didn't? I'd need a plan. Marco. That's it. I practically was Marco. I could use everything he knew to come up with a plan. What, though? I was good at English. Not at coming up with last-minute plans. 

I paused in just enough time to keep from the habit of walking into the kitchen. If I went in there, Matt would be there. It would be discomforting to both of us, so why bother? 

I leaned against the wall and jumped back up. My back! I looked at the wall, rubbing the sore spot on my back. Huh. A fire alarm. Clear the building. No one can get inside until they find out what's going on and/or who pulled the alarm and why. People would refuse to go in. It would cause a lot of trouble. Enough to delay them long enough for the guys to get here? 

Possibly. 

I reached out to pull it and stopped. They'd gotten smarter, true. But had they gotten smart enough to check for fingerprints? No use risking it. The others would pitch a fit if I got caught. They thought I was some sort of great tool. Great for whatever side I was on, as a matter of fact. Plus, if I got caught, they got caught. 

I thought about it and took a paper napkin from nearby. I used it to pull the alarm. 

Immediately, a loud sound pierced the air, threatening to make my ears bleed. I let the crowd of kids running out of the cafeteria carry me along. When I ended up outside, I realized that the ringing of that despicable bell wasn't going to hurt me out here. I went through the crowd of kids who were talking about where to go now. It occurred to me that if we really had happened to have a real fire, we would have been in a lot of trouble. 

I went to the next building and found the bell. This time I braced myself before ringing it. After I'd done that, I ran out the back and did the same at the next building. There were ten buildings in all that were being used for the summer school. I'd done three. Seven left. Everything was going well until I reached the last one. 

I reached the hall and by now had a good idea of where to find the alarm. So far, everything had gone well. No one had seen me. No one had even looked my way. 

I was about to ring the bell when I heard something. I paused with my fingers waiting on the button, trying to see if I could hear the sound again. 

"I said LET ME GO!" 

I hesitated. It sounded like Brandy. The last building I'd seen her in was the English building. I looked around. I hadn't even realized it, but I had gone around in a complete circle. 

"Are you deaf or something? I SAID LET ME GO!" 

Brandy. No doubt she'd gotten in trouble. The question was, with who? And where? 

The mind trick, I told myself. I closed my eyes and thought of Brandy. Suddenly, I saw her. She was on the second floor, being dragged by someone. I couldn't tell who it was. Did it matter? The important thing was to follow her. As long as I kept up with her, maybe I could help. 

I took off for the stairs. I reached the landing and opened my mind to Brandy again. I didn't want to know what she was thinking. She was either panicked or angry, and neither one of those would help my finding her. 

Why did I want to find her, anyway? After all she'd done, I was still going to help her? Well, deep down- really, really, far- really far, deep, deep down, she must be human. At least the slightest bit. Way down there somewhere. 

She was entering the last classroom on the left. That was my classroom! 

I sprinted towards it. By now, I didn't need whatever power I had to find Brandy. I could hear her loud and clear. "Listen, LET GO OF ME! Now, too, or I will call my lawyer so fast you'll be-" Then her voice became muffled. I turned into the room in time to see one of the outside walls without a window slide shut. 

"You have got to be kidding me," I muttered. Marco had encountered things like this before, but in a classroom? I shook my head and walked towards the wall. I had no clue what I was doing, but I had a slight idea. I took my hand and ran it over the wall. When my hand moved over a picture, it started to get warm and stung a bit. I pressed my hand down on the painting and pushed down. The wall slid open. 

Welcome to the Yeerk pool. 


	3. Mind Games, Part 3

Copyright 2000 

Ah, yes. The disclaimer. All characters (you know who) were created by K.A. Applegate. The others, -sorry- are mine. As always, please read this and then take a while to review. 

Don't forget, I accidently wrote a sequel called "A Lesson Learned." Please read that one and review that one too! 

Chapter 7 

I hesitated. Should I go in? When the others came, would they know where I had gone? Did I care? 

I stepped in and then jumped back. There was something bad there. I was going to need something to help me. Or... intuition. I backed up and prepared to run. Whatever was over there, I'd be a bit too fast for it to realize what had just happened. As soon as I reached the invisible barrier between this room and that, I jumped- 

-And crashed into the wall on the other side. 

I peeled myself off and stood at the top of the stairs. I looked behind me. Sure enough, there it was. Marco and the others called it a Gleet Bio-filter, I think. 

I rubbed my nose. The stairway must be pretty narrow. I'd had maybe two feet to go before crashing into the wall. "I'm SO going to feel this tomorrow." 

Slowly, I stepped down the front step, then the second. What had Marco indirectly advised? Act like you belong. Yeah, that was it. 

I raised my head and walked down the stairs as if I did this all the time. 

As I went down, I saw darker shapes that looked like they might be doors or something. Each time one branched to my stairway, it seemed to get larger. It had been meant for more and more people to be herded here. By the time I got to the bottom, it was at least fifteen to twenty feet long. 

The first thing I noticed was that there were guards all over the place. Very few humans. Apparently the Yeerks thought that humans couldn't fight. Instead, there were creatures called Hork-Bajir and Taxxons. Surprisingly, they weren't even in the least disturbing. I'd gotten used to them through Marco's eyes. A long time had been squeezed into one second. 

Hork-Bajir were standing closest to the entrance, the Taxxons beyond them, encircling the cave. My eyes followed the invisible line in front of me, even though it wasn't that invisible since the Hork-Bajir were standing at attention on either side of it. Beyond them, I could just barely make out the shape of the infestation pier. 

I took a step back, into the dark. If I was lucky, maybe they hadn't seen me yet or something. 

Somewhere, I heard Brandy crying. I opened my mind to her, and I saw through her eyes, although I once again blocked out her thoughts. In front of her was Visser Three. 

I hear you have powers we may use, he was beginning. 

I backed out of her mind quickly and returned to my own. I opened my eyes. The Hork-Bajir were still there, standing at full attention even though the Taxxons were getting a bit anxious. 

Visser Three thought Brandy was the one with powers? He didn't suspect me? Then it dawned on me. Mrs. Homesly had merely been on the lookout for anyone who may help them. When rumors had started about someone having special powers, it must have been like a gold mine. At first, she'd thought it was me. That had been why she had been asking me all of those questions. And then I'd gone and started those rumors about Brandy and given the right answer to her "Do you believe in witches?" question. 

This was becoming incredibly ironic. As in, "Hello? Is this Alanis Morrisette? I think I have some new song material for you" ironic. 

However, first things first. The first thing to do was to take down the guards. The others may not arrive for a while, but until then, I was the one who had to save Brandy's butt. 

Oh yeah. Definitely detecting irony. 

I focused my mind. Had I really pushed Brandy back with my mind? It was possible, especially since I'd been getting so much stronger lately. In my mind, I saw the guards. I thought of Mrs. Homesly. She hadn't wanted to be that way. Her mind had been crying out for help. Were these guards the same way? They didn't deserve to die. I didn't want to be the one to kill them. 

I heard a loud thud. You may think that thuds can't be loud, but this one was. I opened my eyes. 

All of the guards were lying on the ground, motionless. Had I done that? Cool. 

Visser Three rushed out of his quarters, the two Controllers following him with Brandy between them. 

The Visser took one look around and yelled in rage. He spun and face Brandy. You did this! **_YOU DID THIS!_**

Brandy shook her head. She looked so... pitiful. Her hair was messed up. Her makeup was smeared by tears and sweat. "No," she muttered. "No." She hesitated. "But I can tell you who did do this," she told him with more certainty. 

And who might that be? 

Brandy opened her mouth to answer. I flung her against the wall. She slumped to the ground, unconscious. This whole mind thing was actually pretty cool. Very, _very_ cool. 

The two Controllers looked at each other uneasily and took a step back into the shadows. The Visser, on the other hand, took a step closer to the center. Who did that? he asked. Who did this? He waved his arm around the room to indicate what he meant. 

I didn't say anything. Instead, I flung him and the two Controllers against the wall. With my mind, I focused on Brandy coming towards me. When I opened my eyes, she was floating in midair towards the stairs. 

The guards were beginning to wake up. Somewhere far above me, I heard the sound of a wall falling, followed by the sound of Rachel's totally unfelt Oops. 

A Hork-Bajir woke up. Then another. The Taxxons, I was confident, would be out of the way for a while. Brandy was almost towards me. 

I heard the stairs rumbling and sat down on them, trying to make myself as small as possible- the only thing I could do. I felt the ground shaking. Suddenly, a tiger appeared. He was followed by a wolf, a gorilla, a hawk, and an Andalite. I still heard muffled sounds coming from behind. 

Why can't they ever make these tunnels bigger? Rachel complained. I closed my eyes and instructed Brandy to keep coming towards me, while at the same time opening my mind to keep an eye on Rachel. She had shrank a bit, which helped. I followed her until she could see me, and then returned to myself. I moved aside as I heard, felt, rather, her growing. 

In the underground alien theme park, everything was chaos. I couldn't see who was fighting who or where the others were- except Rachel, of course, and sometimes Tobias. A the first sign of blood, I realized what I had to do. I closed my eyes and sent Brandy's limp form to the top of the stairs and out the door in a rush. With my luck, she wouldn't be out of it for long. 

And then, I started taking command. _Controllers, up._ I opened my eyes. It had worked. Hork-Bajir, Taxxons, and humans, even Visser Three, were all up in the air. Jake, Ax, Marco, Cassie, Tobias, and Rachel were looking up at them in awe. They looked back at me. I realized that all the Controllers still had their Dracon beams. 

_Weapons, even higher up,_ I instructed. Obediently, all of the weapons of any kind floated about fifteen feet higher than their owners. 

Visser Three was beginning to wake up. Everyone began fighting me. They were all reaching for their weapons, or for the ground, or who was on the ground, or simply trying to move around freely. 

Before I knew it, I became aware that I was tiring out, and fast. The others came towards the stairs, faithful in my holding them. I pushed them forward quickly with my mind. 

What is it? Cassie asked. 

I licked my lips. They were dry underneath a layer of sweat. "I can't hold them much longer." 

Marco stepped forward. I'll take care of it, he said. He picked me up with his back towards the Controllers and held me in his arms as if I were a baby or something. 

I closed my eyes and focused on keeping the Controllers in the air until we got to the top of the stairs. I had to hold them until then. I had to. 

Jake seemed to understand. Either that, or he was in his leader mode again. Rachel, you go first. Shrink a bit so you can fit. We'll follow. 

Okay. Rachel said giddily. You know, she commented as she shrank, that's the easiest fight we've ever had. 

"Tell her to shut up," I whispered, trying to concentrate. 

Okay, already. I can hear you perfectly well, you know. I'm incredibly fat, not deaf. 

Nonetheless, she shut up. 

I concentrated on holding them off. About three fourths of the way to the top, I had to let them drop, but I blocked the entrance to the stairwell so that they couldn't get to us. Behind me, in a private thought-speak whisper, I heard Visser Three saying, I'll get you. Just wait. You'll be ours. Soon. 

I felt Marco step up and opened my eyes slightly. They hadn't gone through the door- they'd plowed through the wall to keep from doing that. 

This was the only building that didn't have a fire alarm going off, Ax explained. Cassie followed your scent to here. The discovery of the picture was pure luck. 

I nodded. 

You okay? Marco asked. Want me to set you down? 

I nodded again and let him drop me gently on the floor. I started to stand up, but my knees were shaking too badly. "I don't think- I can-" I fell to the ground, surrounded by darkness. 

Chapter 8 

I woke up outside, coughing. I heard Matt breathe a sigh of relief. He was holding my hand, but I didn't want to receive whatever information he might have had through whatever way that was. 

"What happened?" I muttered. 

"The building was on fire. You went in to save Brandy. Don't you remember?" 

It started to come back in bits and pieces. My brain was fried. "I think so." 

"I was trying to go and get you, but the teachers were holding us all back. They all said we should wait for the fire department. In the end, I got through. I went in there and found you at the top of the stairs. Don't you remember passing out?" 

"Yeah." Oh, yeah. Did I ever remember that. Well, not really. "How's Brandy?" 

"Fine. She got a bump on he head, though. The doctors already looked at you. They'll probably want to see you again, though. 

I looked up at the building to where the half I'd been on was now just a sooty gap. 

I closed my eyes and send out my mind. Marco- I'd ask him. He seemed like the one to do this. 

I found him instantly. Was it possible to speak mind to mind? Wouldn't hurt to try. _Did you set fire to the English building?_

He looked around in his wolf morph, and I could have sworn he was laughing. Yes. Yes, I did. 

_One of your dreams come true, hmm?_

School go bye-bye. 

_Uh-huh. Interesting way of saying it._ I didn't want to tell him that now, we'd probably be squeezed into some tight space in another building. 

You know, it's amazing what you can do with a match. 

_You and I and the others are going to have a long, long discussion later._

Sure, sure. Right. He ran away, somewhat unconvinced. I let him. 

Yep. Just another day at school. Just another day with a bunch of airheads and a bunch of people who can't think without looking in the back of the book. 

Chapter 9 

She looked at the girl, Melanie. That boy, it must be Matt, was sitting next to her. There was something definitely odd about that girl, she figured. She had seen how easy Melanie convinced people. How she could know things she couldn't possibly know. Move things with her mind. 

She was going to get this girl. 

Maybe she'd give her away as a gift for a reward. Or maybe she'd keep the girl to herself. That would be interesting. 

And this girl kept interesting company, too. 

Yes, she'd have to keep an eye on her. That girl meant power. Power to whomever's hands she was in. 

Guess what?! I finally got part one of the sequel done! More to come! It's called, "A Lesson Learned, Part 1." Whowoulda guessed! Thanks for reading, Dleet. 


End file.
